For sports fans, 2005 was a year to remember – and in some ways, one to forget.

Each sport once again topped the other by seemingly raising the bar a notch from the year before. Regardless of the field of play, there were exciting action and memorable achievements with each flip of the calendar.

As individuals or members of a team, there were new highs that gave birth to a newfound sense of community and school pride. Even the lows – and there were plenty – united people in ways not seen in some time around Bowling Green.

Here is a list, voted on by the Daily News sports staff, of what we felt were the Top 10 Sports Stories of 2005.

1. Western Kentucky’s Danny Rumph dies

On May 9, everyone with any kind of affiliation with Western Kentucky woke up to the unbelievable news of Hilltopper point guard Danny Rumph’s passing. Questions begin to circulate about how a 21-year-old man, in excellent shape, could die in the prime of his life.

Autopsy reports later told us Danny had cardiomyopathy – a heart condition nearly impossible to predict or detect. Rumph collapsed suddenly following a pickup basketball game during summer break in his hometown of Philadelphia.

The shock was felt throughout the entire Western Kentucky community, leaving an everlasting imprint on Hilltopper sports.

Anthony Winchester, Courtney Lee and Elgrace Wilborn honored his memory with tattoos, but the team and the entire Hilltopper nation honored him on Nov. 26 when WKU welcomed Georgia to E.A. Diddle Arena.

Members of Rumph’s family were there as well as former coach Dennis Felton, who recruited Danny during his tenure on the Hill. The Hilltoppers donned all black uniforms, which each read “Rumph” on the back.

2. Dragons go back to Sweet 16 championship

In 2004, Warren Central accomplished something no other Bowling Green high school had ever done. It won the boys’ state basketball championship, and while each team always strives to reach that goal, few ever really have the talent to do so. So it was a pleasant surprise when the Dragons cut down the nets at Rupp Arena, but not shocking.

In 2005, Central shocked the commonwealth when it returned to the title game. Gone were starters Lonnell Dewalt, Brock Whitney, Ryan Anderson and Matt Maresca.

Although each team fights to replace its departing senior class, these Dragons were filling shoes that would make Sasquatch flinch. Central was every bit as dominating behind the leadership of seniors Troy McFarland, Bryson Hall and P.J. Smith as it won 21 straight games before falling 70-59 in the championship game to South Laurel.

A pair of super sophomores in Jeremy Anderson and Nick Britt led the Dragons in scoring and have put them in fine shape to lead Central to their fifth straight Fourth Region title this March.

3. BGHS advances to 3A football title game

This past football season began and ended with disappointment for Bowling Green. Everything in between was as close to a masterpiece as you’ll see in high school football.

In the season opener, the Purples fell 13-7 to St. Xavier in the nightcap of the Rafferty’s Bowl, which kicked off late Saturday night due to lightning and ended early on a serene Sunday morning at L.T. Smith Stadium.

The near defeat of St. Xavier, the unanimous favorite to repeat as state champions in Class 4A, gave the Purples a streak of confidence that led to a dominating run rarely seen in any sport.

Bowling Green rolled off 13 consecutive wins (with a 44-point average margin of victory) behind the state’s stingiest defense, which allowed less than four points per game.

Junior running back Avery Hibbitt set the school’s single-season scoring record with 29 touchdowns. The offense used its dual quarterback system of Trent Steelman and Rondale McMillian to earn a trip to Papa John’s Stadium against Lexington Catholic for the right to be the 3A state champs.

Led by all-state quarterback Justin Burke, the Knights’ highly touted offense made for a great matchup with the Purple defense. It was a day Bowling Green fans had waited a long time for, but it was a dream that quickly turned sour.

Four turnovers helped Lexington Catholic turn back the Purples 49-21. The final three minutes of the second quarter and the opening five minutes of the second half doomed Bowling Green as the Knights poured on 35 points.

Although the good memories outweigh the bad, it will be hard to erase the memory of the state title game because, as anyone who saw the Purples play that season knows, they did not play to their potential. Would that have been good enough for a win? We’ll never know – and that’s the toughest thing about it.

4. WKU fails to make Division I-AA football playoffs

Everything seemed to be going as planned for much of the WKU football season.

Then, unexpectedly, the Toppers imploded.

Ranked No. 1 in the nation, Western welcomed Gateway conference rival Southern Illinois to town for a game nationally televised on ESPNU.

It was not to be WKU’s night as the Salukis dominated the second half en route to a 31-20 victory.

A loss is tough to take, but it’s not the end-all in Division I-AA football. For the Toppers, though, it marked the beginning of the end.

Western lost the next three games, finishing 6-5 on the season and missing the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

5. Michael Eaton repeats

When Greenwood’s Michael Eaton won the Class 3A state cross country title his junior year, it pretty much seemed like a foregone conclusion he would repeat the following year.

Eaton didn’t disappoint, easily winning the title again.

It wasn’t the fact he won, but the fashion in which he did it that made it such an interesting story.

Winning is the goal of every athlete, but especially in an individual sport like cross country. Winning was not enough for Eaton – sealing his place in the record books and leaving a legacy as one of the best runners in state history was.

Eaton won the state meet 43 seconds ahead of the closest competitor, in the process setting the record for a state meet held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington despite the fact he ran with a stiff wind in his face the entire 15:05 it took to finish.

Eaton will attend the University of Louisville next fall and talk has already began about his next accomplishment.

For those who followed his prep career, the hope is he’ll be running someday in the Olympics.

6. (tie) WKU baseball player Michael Wilhite drowns

If losing Rumph was not enough for Western Kentucky, the university tragically lost another athlete in late July when Michael Wilhite fell into a river and drowned in Bend, Ore.

Wilhite was playing summer baseball and looking forward to his junior season with the Hilltoppers – one in which he was likely going to be a key contributor.

A native of Franklin, he passed away at the age of 20 and was grieved heavily throughout southcentral Kentucky.

6. (tie) Joel Murrie and Bill Powell retire at WKU

The winds of change swept through Western Kentucky last year when longtime coaches Joel Murrie and Bill Powell decided to call it quits.

Murrie, who coached the Hilltopper baseball team for 26 years, left the Topper program to Chris Finwood, who takes over the program after being an assistant at Auburn. Murrie left the program with a record of 815-656, which included NCAA Tournament appearances in his debut season at the school in 1980 and again in 2004.

Powell leaves college swimming as the second all-time winningest coach in dual meets with 336 wins, behind only Robert Kiphuth (528 wins), who coached Yale from 1918 to 1959.

Although retired, Powell still helps the WKU team as an assistant to his hand-picked successor, Bruce Marchionda. The Toppers now swim in the pool named in his honor this past year – the Bill Powell Natatorium.

8. WKU alumnus Romeo Crennel named head coach of Cleveland Browns

Not long after winning his third Super Bowl championship as the defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, Romeo Crennel accepted the job as head coach of the Browns.

The former WKU football player became the 11th coach in the history of the storied franchise. Having coached for the past 35 years, 24 in the NFL, Crennel was widely recognized as one of the top assistants in the league.

Crennel’s coaching career began as a graduate assistant at WKU in 1970 under then-coach Jimmy Feix. As a four-year starter on the defensive line, Crennel gave up his position during his senior year to play on the offensive line when that unit struggled early on.

9. Kentucky-Indiana All-Star Classic played in Diddle Arena

For the first time ever, the annual Kentucky-Indiana basketball series was played in Western Kentucky University’s E.A. Diddle Arena.

Warren Central’s Troy McFarland was one of 13 players chosen to play for the boys’ team and Dragons coach Tim Riley was named an assistant.

The Kentucky boys were crushed by Indiana, but the girls’ squad – which included Clinton County’s Amber and Paige Guffey from the Fourth Region – pulled out a win to avoid a sweep by the Hoosiers.

The All-Star Classic will be back in Bowling Green in 2006 and 2007.

10. (tie) Local products Joe Blanton and Corey Hart see time in big leagues

A pair of local baseball products splashed onto the scene in major league baseball this season. Franklin-Simpson graduate Joe Blanton was a rookie starting pitcher for the Oakland A’s while Greenwood product Corey Hart got called up by Milwaukee from his minor league spot in Nashville.

Blanton ended the season with a mark of 12-12 with a 3.53 earned run average and 116 strikeouts. Many of Blanton’s early defeats could be blamed on poor run support.

Hart was called up by the Brewers in August and played in 21 games, getting 11 hits and two home runs in 57 at bats.

10. (tie) Allen County-Scottsville gets diamond sweep

It was a good spring for the Patriots as both the baseball and softball teams won Fourth Region championships.

The Allen County-Scottsville baseball team rolled into the state tournament having won 17 straight.

They dominated the Fourth Region, going 20-1 as they headed to face Christian County in Glasgow for their first round series of the state tournament.

After defeating the Colonels 5-2 in Game 1, the Patriots were beaten 6-2 and 10-0, ending their season.

The ACS softball team defeated Greenwood 5-4 to win the region and advance to state.

The Lady Patriots got off to a slow start at Fisher Park in Owensboro when they dropped their first game 2-0 to Owensboro Catholic. They bounced back to win three in a row before falling 4-2 to Henderson County in the double-elimination tournament. Allen County finished the year 34-10, with a mark of 13-1 in the region.

Others stories receiving votes (in no specific order) were: